Day Eight, Wednesday, August 4th, Thunderbolt to Dataw Island Marina,
near Beaufort SC.
4:30 am woke to sound of running water. No problem found, back to bed.
Cast off with help OK!
Pass Hilton Head Harbor and swanky Skull Creek Marina.
Much cooler today. We need ‘sippy’ cups for coffee.
Continuous line of beautiful mansions.
Pass Paris Island. Long stretch of military instillations/restricted land along Beaufort River ICW.
Wide, but shallow Coosaw River
Increasing woods; decreasing marsh.
Wow! Welcoming committee at Dataw Marina. Lots of help docking. And I did NOT drop the lines.
Daily Panic… the problem we thought was ‘nothing’, is now SOMETHING! Relentless is sinking. Temporary fix applied, will need HAUL OUT in the morning.
Showers and laundry.
Dinner at marina restaurant (Morgan River Grill). Brilliant sunset, lots of colorful people.
Day Nine, Thursday, August 5th:
Restless sleep. Wake to knocking on boat door. We have to hurry and pack, and vacate boat overnight.
Sitting in marina lobby perusing Waterway Guide magazine marina listing. Scouting out our next stop.
Repairs ongoing. Now waiting for decision, and whether we’ll be staying overnight in Beaufort.
Negotiations ensue. Racking up the charges. A new, even greater concern, is that John could murder the obnoxious, jerk of a Dock Master.
Decisions made. The good news, the repairs completed this morning ensured that Relentless is no longer sinking! Other repairs are necessary… tomorrow. We get to stay on the boat tonight.
Second Daily Panic... Tomorrow a second haul out! Two haul outs in two days... serious, dangerous, and unusual. Hauling out a boat of this size and weight involves a massive overhead lift that uses a sling to hoist the boat out of the water. Tensions at breaking point!
Lunch at marina restaurant. My salad was great. John’s hamburger, not so much. Very friendly waitress, Miranda.
Dining room entertainment - Mom with two young children downing pints of beer. Grandma arrives to help out… more beer.
Dinner on board – pork chops, corn on cob, air fryer vegs, left over hush puppies.
Day Ten, Friday, August 6, 2021:
Wake early in anticipation of work ahead.
Breakfast on board. ham and veg omelet; yogurt/granola blueberries and peach.
Wait in lobby while boat is hauled out and repaired – new cutlass bearing is installed.
John tries to order Uber driver to take us to downtown Beaufort. Finally find a driver.
Lunch at Q BBQ – really good pork. Wander thru shops, very expensive.
Daily Panic... No Uber driver available to take us back to the marina, call taxi. $60 to take us ten miles!
Back to boat – raining.
John changes helm wind shield wiper, a more harrowing task than you would expect.
Rest, showers.
Make reservation at Charleston City Marina.
Looking forward to finally leaving Dataw Island. I'm hearing the lyrics ...you can check out, but can never leave in my head. Not the friendliest place.
Call Joe for his birthday, who knows what tomorrow will bring…
